User:Squint0r/sandbox/Hope (Mad at the World album)

History
Hope is the latest album from Christian rock band Mad at the World. It is the band's first album in 22 years, and their first independent album.

Leveraging the success of his latest Rose record Songs for the Ritually Abused, Randy convinced his brother Roger to record a new Mad at the World album after over a two-decade long hiatus. Their idea was to go back to a more electronic sound similar to that of the band's first two albums, Mad at the World (1986) and Flowers in the Rain (1988).

After a successful Kickstarter campaign, Roger and Randy Rose entered the studio. Promising "fresh new sounds" that are "deep, lush, dark, bright, and powerful", the band would work for five months to write, record, and finish their eighth album.

Returning to their "new wave roots for a sound that effectively straddles the line between retro and current" has been declared a "very wise choice" by one reviewer, due to the "resurgence of the '80s sound," although "unlike much of today's electronic music, Hope isn't bogged down by gimmicks and effects." The album "sounds very little like anything currently playing on Top 40 radio," and the album's "unapologetic audacity to act as if the last three decades never happened" is its "most potent asset."

Hope also marks the band's first collaboration with fans. Kickstarter backers Jason Ames, and brothers Matt and Kit Bovett, were rewarded the opportunity to collaborate with the band. On the song "My Old Best Friend," Matt contributed lyrics, keyboards, and drum editing, while his brother Kit contributed electronic drum performances and programming. Jason Ames wrote the lyrics in the song "Can You Feel My Pain."

The album's digital, CD and vinyl artwork was a collaboration between the band and fan Josh Spencer.

Personnel

 * Roger Rose – lyrics, lead and background vocals, keyboards, guitars, synthesizer programming, drum programming, percussion, mixing
 * Randy Rose – lyrics, lead and background vocals, keyboards, synthesizer programming, drum programming, percussion, mastering
 * Matt Bovett – lyrics, keyboards, synthesizer programming, drum editing
 * Kit Bovett - drum programming
 * Ray Rose - bass
 * Jason Ames - lyrics